WILL DEMOCRATS SELECT
THE GENERAL OF THE WACO SIEGE AS ITS PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE?

By Pastor Chuck Baldwin

November 11, 2003

NewsWithViews.com

An October 28 report in Insight
magazine reminded us that the Democratic presidential candidate and
now-retired four-star general, Wesley Clark, was the Army commander who
used U.S. soldiers and military hardware against American civilians in
the federal assault against the Branch Davidians which violated the
Posse Comitatus Act and resulted in the massacre of nearly ninety
lives, including old men, women, and children.

To be sure, General Clark possesses a
plethora of great distinctions. He graduated first in his class at West
Point. He was a Rhodes scholar, a decorated Vietnam combat veteran, a
White House fellow, and Supreme Commander of NATO. However, his role at
the disastrous assault of the Branch Davidians outside Waco, Texas,
leaves many questions about his fitness to be entrusted with America's
civil liberties.

According to Insight, "Between August
1992 and April 1994, Clark was commander of the 1st Cavalry Division of
the Army's III Corps at Fort Hood, Texas. According to a report by the
U.S. Department of the Treasury, the list of military personnel and
equipment used at Waco included: 15 active-duty military personnel, 13
Texas National Guard personnel, nine Bradley fighting vehicles, five
combat-engineer vehicles, one tank-retrieval vehicle and two M1A1
Abrams tanks. Additionally, Fort Hood reportedly was used for much of
the training for the bloody attack on the Davidians and their
children."

The report quotes West Point graduate
Joseph Mehrten Jr. as saying, "It is of critical importance that such
vehicles could not have been moved for use at Waco without Clark's
knowledge."

Many will excuse Clark's decision to
use military personnel and hardware against American civilians as being
justified by saying, "He was only following orders." Mehrten's response
to that argument is, "To follow that order is to follow a blatantly
illegal order of a kind every West Point officer knows is a violation
of the Posse Comitatus Act. Clark's obligation was to say, 'No, I'm not
going to do it.'"

Mehrten continues, "Look, Clark went
to the same institution I did and at West Point we had extensive
instruction in military ethics and issues concerning how one avoids
obeying an illegal military order. It is drilled into our heads from
the earliest days as cadets that the 'I-was-just-following-orders'
defense isn't necessarily a good one."

Before people elect Wesley Clark as
their president, these issues need to be resolved. Why did General
Clark allow U.S. military forces, including armored vehicles and tanks
to be used in a massacre of American civilians? Who gave him such an
order? Was it then-governor of Texas Ann Richards? Was it Janet Reno or
Bill Clinton?

Other questions Clark needs to answer
are: What is his understanding of the Posse Comitatus Act? Does he
believe it is proper for military forces to be used against American
citizens? Would he ever authorize such action?

To date, General Clark has never been
called upon to answer these questions. He wasn't even asked to testify
before the congressional committee investigating the circumstances at
Waco. The American people need to hear his answers to these questions!

The Waco tragedy still haunts the
American conscience! That nearly ninety Americans, most of whom were
old people, women, and children, could be mercilessly gunned down or
burned alive at the hands of U.S. military personnel and federal agents
eats like a cancer at our nation's character! That General Clark may
have participated in both the act and the resultant cover-up is very
serious!

Michael McNulty, an investigative
journalist and Oscar nominee for his documentary, "Waco: The Rules of
Engagement," said, "Whatever he (General Clark) did, he at least is
guilty of being a good German, following orders."

However, with the federal government's
fascination with continued infringements upon the American people's
rights and liberties, the last thing we need is a "good German" for
president!

Chuck Baldwin is
Founder-Pastor of
Crossroads Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. In 1985 the church was
recognized by President Ronald Reagan for its unusual growth and
influence.

Dr. Baldwin is the host of a lively,
hard-hitting syndicated radio talk show on the Genesis Communications
Network called, "Chuck Baldwin Live" This is a daily, one hour long
call-in show in which Dr. Baldwin addresses current event topics from a
conservative Christian point of view. Pastor Baldwin writes weekly
articles on the internet http://www.ChuckBaldwinLive.com and
newspapers.